GettyImages-1501926039

Hazel Monét, the adorable 2-year old daughter of R&B star Victoria Monet, made history this weekend as the youngest Grammy nominee. Hazel is nominated for best traditional R&B performance as a featured artist on her mom’s “Hollywood,” which also features the legendary Earth, Wind Fire.The win for Hazel is one of many celebrations within the Monét household. After the nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards were announced on Friday, Monét learned that she was up for seven nominations.https://twitter.com/BuzzingPop/status/1723021971330306459Her superstar mom told <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/victoria-monet-grammy-nominations-interview-1235468849/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Billboard</a> that the toddler reacted to the news by "being on the phone watching <a href="https://people.com/music/baby-shark-billboard-hot-100-chart/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Baby Shark</a>." “I’m so proud of her, but she has no idea," she explained to the outlet.“She’s like, kind of panicking, because she doesn’t know why we’re all screaming. I know I’ll be able to explain it to her when she gets older, and she’ll definitely appreciate it because she’s already into music and is starting to write songs unknowingly. She’s making potty songs and all that kind of stuff. So I’m super excited that this will be something that she has forever. I’m already thinking about her wardrobe for the Grammys.”Before snagging seven Grammy noms, Monét spent majority of her career writing for others. The Atlanta-born and Sacramento-raised singer came to L.A. in 2009 to try her hand as an artist. Despite signing to Atlantic in 2014, her songwriting prowess gave her countless opportunities to write for Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Coco Jones and many other R&B songbirds.After releasing six EPs, Monet made her album debut with JAGUAR II. The 11 track project features highly acclaimed "On My Mama" and Grammy nominated, "Hollywood."https://music.apple.com/us/album/hollywood-feat-earth-wind-fire-hazel-mon%C3%A9t/1689676516?i=1689676742

Victoria Monét's 2 Year-Old Daughter Becomes Youngest Grammy Nominee

GettyImages-74292309

<h5 id="h-the-late-blues-singer-ma-rainey-was-awarded-with-a-lifetime-achievement-award-at-the-2023-grammy-awards">The late Blues singer Ma Rainey was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Grammy Awards.</h5>Gertrude "Ma Rainey" Pridgett entered the music business over a century ago and her impact is still present. Rainey was a blues singer who became known for her signature "moaning" singing style. She was lauded as "The Mother of Blues" for her powerful vocals and energetic disposition. Because of her musical innovation, she was awarded with a <a href="https://www.grammy.com/news/ma-rainey-lifetime-achievement-award-2023-grammys">Lifetime Achievement Award </a>at this year's Grammy Awards. The award honors performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.Netflix's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom starring <a href="https://www.wbls.com/wbls-news/viola-davis-opens-up-to-oprah-about-chadwick-boseman-not-interested-in-being-a-movie-star">Viola Davis</a>, attests to Ma Rainey's musical contributions. Set in 1927, the film dramatizes a turbulent recording between Rainey and her manager Irvin. While Rainey's impact was not celebrated during her lifetime, she has garnered a great deal of recognition posthumously. In 1983, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and then inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1990). Her legacy continued with a commemorative postage stamp in 1994.https://www.instagram.com/p/CN00k9wDA06/

Ma Rainey Posthumously Receives The 'Lifetime Achievement Award' At The 2023 Grammys

GettyImages-1463265837

Viola Davis made her way into the very exclusive group of EGOT winners this past Sunday by winning a Grammy in the category of Best Spoken Word Album for her audiobook Finding Me. An EGOT winner is someone who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. There are only 18 people in the world who have achieved that feat. Many have achieved this status through directing or producing on some of the projects they won for, while Viola Davis was the performer for each of her wins.Davis joins an even shorter list of Black people who have created history by achieving EGOT status. But who were the first black people to win an EGOT? We’ve got you with this week’s In Case You Didn't Know<h2 id="h-whoopi-goldberg-s-egot-win">Whoopi Goldberg's EGOT Win</h2><img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hsw71v2um1i3/72o6KikyaQj6zlStMkocAB/6591a6824d6b8fa91097654b63f61b02/GettyImages-2289386-401x600.jpg" alt="Whoopi EGOT" class="wp-image-102950"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mary Tyler Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in the pressroom during the 56th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. June 2, 2002. Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect</figcaption>The first black EGOT win was only in 2002. It was achieved by Whoopi Goldberg. It took her 16 years to win all four awards. She first got her Grammy in 1986, her Oscar in 1990, as well as her Emmy in early 2002. Later that year she cemented her EGOT status with a Tony award for performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie.<h2>John Legend's EGOT</h2><img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hsw71v2um1i3/4bNqK9QAG20vzqtya1YKEb/56e2117e84af5fc5f4ab6ed5e66d7057/GettyImages-1030447678-480x600.jpg" alt="john legend egot" class="wp-image-102951"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: John Legend poses in the press room of the 2018 Creative Arts Emmy Awards - Day 2 at Microsoft Theater on September 9, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)</figcaption>The first Black man to win an EGOT was John Legend. The singer achieved this feat 16 years after Whoopi Goldberg in 2018. It took him a total of 12 years to collect all four. He started with his first Grammy in 2006. However, he didn't begin his EGOT quest until almost ten years later, winning an Oscar in 2015. He then won a Tony in 2017 and cemented his EGOT status in 2018 with an Emmy for producing Jesus Christ Superstar.<h2>Jennifer Hudson's EGOT</h2>Up next is Jennifer Hudson. Her admittance into the EGOT club came only four years after John Legend and took her a total of 15 years to complete. She first received her Oscar in 2007, then a Grammy in 2009. She received an Emmy in 2021 and cemented her status with a Tony in 2022 for being a part of Strange Loop: The Musical, which won best play. Hudson is currently the youngest woman to win an EGOT. <h2>Who May Make The List Next</h2>What Black person will be next to win? Well, people are looking at Cynthia Erivo as she is waiting on her Oscar win. Common is also in the running as he is awaiting on a Tony. Additonally, H.E.R. would be on that list as well. She is waiting on a Tony award and she hasn't even hit 30 yet!

In Case You Didn't Know: Black EGOT Winners

GettyImages-927305286-818x660-1

The 2023 Grammys was one for the books. Several winners made history last night. Dave Chappelle's win, however, was one many were not rooting for.https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1622381752491868162?s=20&t=9HMwOZyLefP6ngwkSWDQtgThe comedian won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album for his Netflix special <a href="https://www.wbls.com/wbls-news/angry-netflix-employees-protest-over-dave-chappelle-the-closer-special-walk-out">The Closer</a>. If you recall, many users on social media were not too happy with the special. It sparked outrage for featuring jokes aimed at the transgender community.Chappelle did not attend the Grammys Premiere Ceremony to accept his award. Presenter, <a href="https://www.wbls.com/wbls-news/babyface-settles-divorce-with-ex-wife-will-pay-3700-a-month">Babyface</a> accepted the award on his behalf. He beat out Jim Gaffigan, Randy Rainbow, Patton Oswalt, and Louis C.K., another controversial comedian, for the award. This is Chappelle’s fourth Grammy and follows C.K.’s controversial win last year for Sincerely Louis CK.Released in 2021, The Closer featured Chappelle making statements like "gender is a fact." He also joked that he is "team TERF," meaning trans-exclusionary radical feminist, while defending J.K. Rowling, who has sparked similar outrage for anti-trans tweets. The special was accused of being transphobic and sparked controversy as well as an employee walkout at Netflix. also He also received criticism from the Black LGBTQ community specifically for not acknowledging that queer and trans people are not just white while discussing racism within the LGBTQ community.In 2022, the winner of the category was Louis C.K., who admitted to allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017. After Chappelle and C.K. were nominated for this year's Grammys, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told The Hollywood Reporter that they do not look at morality when voting for a winner. “If the voters feel like a creator deserves a nomination, they’re going to vote for them,” Mason said, addressing controversial nominees. “We’re never going to be in the business of deciding someone’s moral position or where we evaluate them to be on the scale of morality. I think our job is to evaluate the art and the quality of the art. We can make sure that all of our spaces are safe and people don’t feel threatened by anyone. But as far as the nominations or the awards, we really let the voters make that decision.”

Dave Chappelle's Controversial Netflix Series Wins Grammy

GettyImages-1463336378

The performances at this year's Grammys were remarkable. Bad Bunny shut the house down, Lizzo took us to church and Mary J Blige reminded us that it's a good morning, gorgeous. But one performance brought the entire audience and viewers at home together. The Hip-Hop 50th anniversary tribute paid homage to the growth of the genre. The performance boasted performances from everyone to LL Cool J and Queen Latifah to Missy Elliot and Lil Baby. But there was one person who couldn't make it to the festivities: Will Smith.<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoWNUSEL2sR/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoWNUSEL2sR/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg> View this post on Instagram </a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoWNUSEL2sR/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Queen Latifah (@queenlatifah)</a></blockquote> Questlove produced the performance. While speaking with<a href="https://variety.com/video/will-smith-grammys-hip-hop-tribute-questlove/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Variety</a>, he mentioned the Fresh Prince was supposed make an appearance during the performance, but had a scheduling conflict. "I'll give the spoiler alert away. Will Smith was a part of the festivities tonight, but they started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week," Questlove, told Variety on the red carpet. "There were a lot of preliminary shots that he had to do, so we had to lose Will."He also added that he knew trying to get Smith for the perofrmance was a “shot in the dark.” This due to the fact that he’s always shooting movies. Questlove explained that he originally planned for the set to be 23 minutes long before cutting it down to 15 minutes.<h2 id="h-the-grammys-hip-hop-50-performance">The Grammys Hip-Hop 50 Performance</h2>"We had a lot of people, and some of them have other jobs," he said. "[Queen] Latifah and LL [Cool J] had to leave their respective shows to come and do this so there were a lot of legit reasons why we couldn't be all-inclusive of some people. I promise you it's going to be amazing," and it was.The performance included a homage to Nelly's Hot in Herre and Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella's My Mike Sounds Nice. We were taken on a trip through the history of Hip-Hop. It was wrapped up with Lil Uzi Vert's Just Wanna Rock to remind the crowd of the future of the genre.

Questlove Reveals Why Will Smith Dropped From Grammys Hip-Hop Tribute

GettyImages-1419821870

If you’ve watched the 65th annual Grammy Awards last night, then you witnessed the epic tribute dedicated to Hip-Hop to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Rappers such as Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Nelly, Salt & Peppa, Run DMC, Glorilla, Lil Baby, and more were all a part of the star-studded performance, but one supergroup was not, which was J.J. Fad. The group went on Instagram to slam the Recording Academy for excluding them from the tribute, although they were the first female rap group to be nominated for a Grammy when the rap category was created. In the caption of the post, they wrote, “So when the @recordingacademy Grammy’s first introduced the rap category in 1988, we were the first to be nominated in that category. Now there’s a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop at the Grammy’s and we aren’t invited?? Make it make sense!!” https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPzZVPrpFi/?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=During a <a href="https://apple.news/A9kj2UJczTmquXMVjuCd5aw">recent interview</a>, they went on to say, “We just want the same respect as all of our Hip-hop brothers and sisters that made a difference in Hip-Hop.” They added, “We attended the Grammys when we were nominated along with Kool Moe Dee who should also be there representing Hip-Hop. We hate to sound whiny and we aren’t hating on anyone, we just want to be there with our Hip-Hop brothers and sisters and be honored for our contributions to Hip-Hop as well.” J.J. Fad added another post congratulating everyone who appeared during the hip-hop tribute at the Grammys. https://www.instagram.com/p/CoTowplu-ny/?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=What are your thoughts about this?